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Covid three times more frequent among young children in England, study finds
Covid infections among five- to 11-year-olds are three times more prevalent than in the general population of England, a government-backed study has found.
An estimated 4.47% of primary school-aged children had the virus within the period of the study in contrast with 1.41% across the country overall, according to the research.
React-1, a joint study by Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori, analysed data from 97,000 volunteers in England to examine national Covid-19 levels between 23 November and 14 December.
It predicted that the rapidly spreading Omicron variant will become the dominant strain across the country more than three times faster than Delta overtook Alpha.
However, the speed of the vaccine rollout to secondary school-aged children and the booster rollout among adults may have helped to curb infection rates among other age groups, researchers said.
Read the full story here.
The White House has warned that the Pfizer Covid-19 pill will not be widely available for months, the Financial Times is reporting.
The complex nature of the drug reportedly means it will take more than half a year to make the 10 million courses that are on order.
We will have more on this story as it develops.
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Hello it’s Samantha Lock reporting to you from Sydney as I take over the Covid blog from my colleague Jem Bartholomew, who was reporting to you from London.
As usual, let’s start with some numbers out of Australia.
The nation’s most populous state of NSW saw cases soar to 5,715 new infections with one death while Victoria reported 2,005 cases and 10 deaths.
Tasmania’s numbers are also in. There have been 26 new Covid cases reported - a record high for the state. Queensland recorded 369 new cases.
Prime minister Scott Morrison has insisted it’s not necessary for the states to introduce mask mandates in response to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, despite health advice recommending they be compulsory in indoor settings.
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Wednesday Summary
Here’s a round-up of Wednesday’s global developments on Covid and Omicron:
- Early UK data suggests the risk of a hospital stay is 40% lower with Omicron than Delta, according to a study by Imperial College London. Another study from South Africa also appeared to suggest a lessened severity from the highly-transmissible variant.
- The UK logged 100,000 new Covid infections for the first time since the pandemic began, with Northern Ireland and Wales announcing new restrictions.
- Canada will expand support to people and business over Omicron restrictions, after provinces Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia announced new restrictions to push back the virus.
- Health regulators in the United States issued an emergency use authorisation for a pill made by Pfizer that can be used to treat Covid at home.
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said booster programmes in wealthy nations are likely to prolong the pandemic as much of the world’s population remains unvaccinated.
- France reported 84,272 new cases ad health minister Olivier Véran warned the country could soon have around 100,000 infections a day.
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Belgian concert halls, cinemas and other entertainment venues will close because of the surging variant, the government announced.
- In Spain, face masks will once again be compulsory at all times outdoors even when a distance of 1.5m from other people can be maintained, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said.
- Germany’s new health minister Karl Lauterbach suggested a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose would be required in order to protect against Omicron.
- Israel is set to become the first country in the world to offer a fourth dose of Covid vaccines, to over 60s and healthcare workers, in an effort to protect against the Omicron variant.
- Ukraine said it expects a new wave of cases to begin in February, just weeks after its last wave spiked.
- In the US, California’s governor Gavin Newsom said healthcare workers in “high-risk congregate settings” will require a Covid vaccine booster by 1 February.
- Denmark will tighten restrictions in schools from 5 January, with pupils and staff taking two weekly tests, teachers and parents urged to wear face masks (except in class) and contact reduced between students.
That’s all from me, Jem Bartholomew in London, and I’m handing over to my colleague Samantha Lock in Australia. I’ll be back tomorrow. Do get in touch by email or on Twitter with tips and stories for then.
How is the Omicron wave impacting UK cities?
As with other waves, it appears the public have started to take action ahead of any potential tougher government restrictions.
Data from the retail intelligence firm Springboard on Wednesday showed a 17.3% drop in footfall in central London compared with the same day last week, and regional cities have recorded a 3.4% drop. My colleague Alexandra Topping has this report:
The busy streets of central London are normally no place for the faint-hearted in the run-up to Christmas. Shoppers jostle with increasing urgency to secure last-minute gifts while revellers spill out from bars and restaurants to celebrate their final days in the office.
But this is far from a normal Christmas. Shoppers and tourists have stayed away from the capital in large numbers, data – and haunting pictures – reveal.
Images of near-empty streets in citiessuch as Manchester and Edinburgh tell a tale of shoppers and tourists alike staying away from city centres over fears about the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant and a mass return to working from home. Andrew Lloyd Webber has closed Cinderella until next year, and productions of Hamilton and The Lion King have been pulled.
Elizabeth Stokoe, professor of social interaction at Loughborough University, told me this has characterised UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s approach throughout the pandemic, with polling showing the public generally ahead of the government over restrictions. Johnson has in the past imposed restrictions only after, she said, it became clear the public supported them.
“If the public are the motorway traffic, going in one direction, Johnson just joins from the side – but he’s not directing the traffic,” Stokoe said.
Read The Guardian’s full report here.
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In the US, the flu virus, which all but disappeared in 2020, is circulating agan, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 2,500 positive flu infections were reported the week ending 11 December, back to pre-Covid levels.
That could cause problems alongside the surging Omicron wave, epidemiologists warned the New York Times, amid worries whether health systems can keep up with two respiratory viruses.
“We have seen how surges in Covid-19 infections can overwhelm hospitals, and influenza infections could further stress health care systems,” CDC epidemiologist Sonja Olsen said. “If both viruses continue to circulate and increase in activity, the situation could get worse.”
The Times has the full report here.
Russia reported 25,264 new Covid infections on Wednesday, the Moscow Times reports, a 16% decrease on the 30,228 new cases logged on Wednesday two weeks ago.
Russia saw its recent wave spike in early November, when daily case rates nudged close to 40,000, and in recent weeks has seen a receding epidemic.
But death rates remain high. 1,020 people died from Covid-related causes on Wednesday, down 11% on the 1,149 on Wednesday two weeks ago.
But with the Sputnik V vaccine proving little effective against the Omicron variant in an early study – research Russia rejects – there are worries of a resurgent wave. Health authorities said there had been 41 cases of Omicron detected so far on Tuesday.
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In the US, Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to the president, said on Wednesday that large gatherings of over 40 people during the holiday season are unsafe, even if you’re vaccinated and boosted.
“There are many of these parties that have 30, 40, 50 people in which you do not know the vaccination status of individuals. Those are the kind of functions in the context of Omicron that you do not want to go to,” Fauci said at a White House briefing.
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Denmark will tighten restrictions in schools, with pupils and staff taking two weekly tests, staff and parents urged to wear facemasks and contact reduced between students in efforts to roadblock Omicron.
The new restrictions will begin when students return on 5 January, the education minister, Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, said, as reported by the Copenhagen Post. Teachers will be exempt from wearing masks in classrooms.
It comes after schools continue to drive infections. The Post reported that recently, almost 2,500 out of every 100,000 school kids aged six to 11 were infected, twice as many as any other age group.
Denmark has seen cases surge in recent weeks: 13,057 Covid infections were detected on Tuesday, a 106% climb on the 6,324 positive tests on Tuesday two weeks ago.
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Canada to expand support to people and business over Omicron restrictions
Canada will expand support for people and businesses hit by the Omicron wave.
“We are in for some even tougher times ahead. That is true and that is really hard,” finance minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday. She announced Ottawa would temporarily expand programs on the cost of rent and wages until 22 February.
It followed restrictions announced earlier by provinces Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia to try and push back the virus. Prime minister Justin Trudeau said at a government briefing three of his staff, plus three security detail workers, have Covid.
Canada reported 11,300 new cases in the past 24 hours, a 220% increase on the 3,529 new infections on Wednesday two weeks ago.
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Ukraine expects new wave in February
Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s secretary of the national security and defense council, said the country expects a new wave to take off in February, local media Ukrinform reports.
“As of today, the situation is under control. The ongoing fourth wave declines now, we are following it. We expect the next wave to start on February 10 - 15. It all depends on vaccination pace,” Danilov said.
Ukraine experienced spiking cases in late-October and early-November, with daily infections sometimes hitting 27,000.
But in recent weeks the epidemic has receded. Ukraine reported 6,363 Covid cases in the past 24 hours, Ukrinform reported, a 36% decline on the 9,895 new cases on Wednesday two weeks ago.
A further 301 people died from Covid-related causes on Wednesday, down 37% from 480 people on Wednesday two weeks ago.
In the US, California’s governor Gavin Newsom said healthcare workers in “high-risk congregate settings” will require a Covid vaccine booster by 1 February, in signs booster shots are being integrated into existing mandates as data emerges three doses are required for protection against Omicron.
A previous mandate for Californian healthcare workers to be vaccinated came on 30 September. (Workers can apply for a religious of medical exemption.)
According to the state’s data, 70.4% of people statewide are double-vaccinated and 42.4% of people are boosted. Healthcare workers not yet boosted must submit to two Covid test a week ahead of 1 February, Newsom said.
Risk of hospital stay 40% lower with Omicron than Delta, UK data suggests
People who test positive with the Omicron variant are on average 15% less likely than Delta cases to attend hospital and have a 40% lower risk of being hospitalised for a night or more, UK data suggests.
The Imperial College outbreak modelling team led by Prof Neil Ferguson analysed hospitalisations and vaccine records among all PCR-confirmed Covid cases in England between 1 and 14 December.
In a report published on Wednesday, the scientists found that any attendance at hospital was a fifth to a quarter lower with Omicron versus Delta cases, and between 40% and 45% lower when the visit resulted in being admitted for at least one day.
My colleague Ian Sample will have a longer report on this shortly.
Here are the UK’s record-breaking Covid case numbers – jumping over 100,000 for the first time – in context.
This is Jem Bartholomew in London taking charge of the international blog for the next few hours. Do get in touch with tips and stories, it’s always great to hear from readers.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a quick roundup of what’s been happening so far:
- Health regulators in the United States issued an emergency use authorisation for a pill made by Pfizer that can be used to treat Covid-19 at home. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the pill, sold under the brand name Paxlovid, could be used to treat mild-to-moderate Covid-19 in adults and children 12 years and older, so long as they have tested positive for the virus and are at high risk of severe Covid symptoms.
- The UK recorded 106,122 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic and the first time cases have passed 100,000. Government figures showed a further 140 deaths were also reported, bringing the total to 147,573.
- The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been approved for use in vulnerable primary school children in the UK, following a recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
- A maximum of six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants in Wales from 6am on 26 December, the first minister has announced. The two-metre social distancing rules will also return in public places and outdoor events will be limited to 50, and 30 indoors. Nightclubs in Northern Ireland will close on Boxing Day.
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South Africa has reported data on Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant that appears to give added impetus to claims the country is experiencing a lower severity of disease. “In South Africa, this is the epidemiology: Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” said one of the authors of the study.
- France reported 84,272 new coronavirus cases today, close to the daily record of just less than 87,000 in November 2020. French health minister Olivier Véran warned the country could soon have around 100,000 new Covid cases a day, but said no new restrictions were on the table for now.
- Concert halls, cinemas and other entertainment venues in Belgium will close because of the surging variant, the government announced. From Sunday, no indoor activities will be allowed except for museum visits, exercise, weddings or funerals and sports fans will not be allowed into stadiums.
- In Spain, face masks will once again be compulsory at all times outdoors even when a distance of 1.5m from other people can be maintained, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said. The announcement comes a day after Spain recorded its highest daily case numbers since the pandemic began.
- Germany’s new health minister Karl Lauterbach suggested a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose would be required in order to protect against Omicron. He said the new variant will become the dominant strain within three weeks and the country has ordered 80m doses of Omicron-specific vaccine for delivery in April or May.
- Israel is set to become the first country in the world to offer a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines in an effort to protect against the Omicron variant. People over the age of 60 and healthcare workers will be eligible for a second booster shot, the prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said.
- The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said the world will have enough doses of Covid vaccines in the first quarter of 2022 to inoculate all of the global adult population – if western countries do not hoard those vaccines to use in blanket booster programme.
- Separately, a WHO official said it is too soon to say whether the new variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant. “We do have some data suggesting that rates of hospitalisation are lower,” said WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove, but she warned against drawing conclusions from early data because “we have not seen this variant circulate long enough in populations around the world”.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, for today as I hand over the blog to my colleague Jem Bartholomew, who will continue to bring you the latest coronavirus news from around the world.
Updated
France reported 84,272 new cases, coming close to its all-time high of almost 87,000 cases in November 2020.
The latest figure marks the biggest one-day increase on record and the country’s second-highest this year.
Earlier today, France’s health minister Olivier Véran warned the country could soon have around 100,000 new Covid cases a day. He said no new restrictions were on the table for now, although nothing could be ruled out.
Updated
US President Joe Biden has tested negative for Covid-19, days after he was in contact with a White House aide who later tested positive for the virus.
The White House announced the results after Biden told reporters hours earlier that he had received a PCR test but was waiting on results.
On Monday, the White House said a “mid-level staff member” who tested positive on Monday had spent about 30 minutes “in proximity to the president” on Air Force One as Biden flew from South Carolina to Pennsylvania on Friday.
The staffer, who is fully vaccinated and boosted, had tested negative before getting on the plane and did not experience symptoms until Sunday, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
Here’s more on the US Food and Drug Administration’s authorisation of Pfizer’s antiviral Covid-19 pill, which will be sold under the brand name Paxlovid.
The agency authorised the oral drug – the first at-home treatment for Covid – for the treatment of high-risk adult patients and pediatric patients at least 12 years of age with Covid-19 outside of the hospital.
The drugmaker said it was ready to start immediately delivery in the United States and raised its production projections to 120m courses of treatment from 80m in 2022. The US government’s contract for 10 million courses of the Pfizer drug is priced at $530 per course.
Data from Pfizer’s clinical trial showed its two-drug antiviral regimen was 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness. Recent data suggests it retains its effectiveness against the Omicron variant.
The pills are meant to be taken every 12 hours for five days beginning shortly after the onset of symptoms.
Belgium to close cinemas and theatres in tightening of Covid measures
Concert halls, cinemas and other entertainment venues in Belgium will close from this weekend because of the surging Omicron variant, the government has announced.
From Sunday, sports fans will not be allowed into stadiums and indoor venues and groups entering a shop will be limited to two adults. No indoor activities will be allowed except for museum visits, exercise, weddings or funerals.
Bars and restaurants will be allowed to remain open until 11pm, under curtailed hours imposed since the start of the month.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said although overall Covid infections were down 60% from three weeks ago, worryingly three out of 10 positive tests were now of the Omicron variant.
“We have to be more careful than ever in this period where there are many uncertainties,” he said.
He did not rule out stricter restrictions being brought in if the increase in Omicron cases led to more hospitalisations.
Updated
WHO boss: Covid booster drives likely to prolong pandemic
The world will have enough doses of Covid vaccines early next year to inoculate all of the global adult population – if western countries do not hoard those vaccines to use in blanket booster programmes, the head of the World Health Organization has said.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday there would be sufficient supplies of vaccine in global circulation in the first quarter of 2022.
“Blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the Covid-19 pandemic, rather than ending it, by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate,” Tedros said, adding: “No country can boost its way out of the pandemic.”
His remarks follow predictions by officials with the WHO’s Africa region earlier this month that African countries should receive almost a billion doses within the same timeframe.
Read the full article here:
Face masks will once again be compulsory at all times outdoors in Spain, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced.
People will be required to wear a face mask outdoors even when a distance of 1.5m from other people can be maintained.
Sánchez is due to hold a cabinet meeting tomorrow to approve the decree, the Spanish government said in a statement. It is not known yet when the rule will come into effect.
The announcement comes a day after Spain recorded its highest daily case numbers since the pandemic began.
US regulators approve first Covid antiviral pill
Health regulators in the United States have cleared use of a Covid-19 pill from Pfizer, the first drug that newly-infected patients can now take at home to stay out of the hospital.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorisation for Pfizer’s Paxlovid for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease in adults and patients aged 12 or older.
Paxlovid is available by prescription only and should be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis and within five days of symptom onset.
Not enough data on Omicron severity yet, says WHO
A World Health Organization (WHO) official has said it is too soon to say whether the new variant is more transmissible than the Delta variant, almost a month after South Africa first raised the alarm about its emergence.
“We do have some data suggesting that rates of hospitalisation are lower,” WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria van Kerkhove, said.
But she warned against drawing conclusions from early data because “we have not seen this variant circulate long enough in populations around the world, certainly in vulnerable populations”.
She said the data on the new variant was still “messy” as countries reported its arrival and spread.
Italy has recorded 36,293 new cases, compared with 30,798 the previous day, the health ministry said. A further 146 deaths were also reported, taking the total to 136,077. It is the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain and ninth-highest in the world.
The number of patients in hospital with Covid – not including those in intensive care – stood at 8,544 on Wednesday, up from 8,381 a day earlier. The total number of intensive care patients fell to 1,010 from a previous 1,012.
Here’s a little more on those latest UK figures. The new daily total is 106,122, which is more than 13,000 higher than the previous record - 93,045 on Friday last week.
The total number of new cases over the past week is up 58.9% on the total for the previous week.
As I mentioned in the previous post, case numbers are only comparable since mass testing began in May and June last year. Experts have said there are likely to be hundreds of thousands of infections per day, with many being missed.
Compared with the previous week, the number of daily deaths has decreased by 2.7% in the last seven days.
As of yesterday, a total of 8,008 people were in hospital with Covid. This is the highest number since 22 November and up 4% on a week earlier – but still a long way off the 39,254 hospitalisations recorded on 18 January.
UK daily cases exceed 100,000 for the first time
The UK recorded 106,122 new Covid cases on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since the beginning of the pandemic and the first time cases have passed 100,000.
(Comparisons are only appropriate with the second and third waves, because there was very little testing during the first wave, which kept recorded cases very low.)
Government figures showed a further 140 deaths were also reported, bringing the total to 147,573.
Updated
Children between the ages of five and 11 in Finland will be eligible to receive a Covid vaccine, health officials said.
Until now only children in vulnerable groups have been able to receive the jab. Earlier this month, the Finnish Health Institute recommended that children aged five and over should be vaccinated against Covid if they or someone in their household were at high risk of severe infection.
The move comes alongside new restrictions to curb Christmas drinking and tighten border controls. Bars will stop serving alcohol at 9pm on Christmas Eve, followed by a three-week alcohol sales ban past 5pm in bars and restaurants from 28 December.
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Unvaccinated people in Kenya will be banned from public places, the health ministry said, despite a court order last week against the measures.
People will now have to show proof of vaccination to use public transport or enter government offices. Senior health ministry official Mercy Mwangangi said:
In public places, all persons must show proof of vaccination for admission for example into national parks, game reserves, hotels, bars as well as use of public transport.
In the event of non-compliance, action shall be taken, which may include the withdrawal of the licence of the institution.
The proportion of Kenyans with a positive test result has soared recently, from 1% in early December to almost 30% now.
Israel is set to become the first country in the world to offer a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines in an effort to protect against the new Omicron variant.
People over the age of 60 and healthcare workers will be eligible for a second booster shot, the prime minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Tuesday night, following a recommendation made by Israel’s panel of pandemic experts.
The rollout, aimed at people who had a third shot at least four months ago, is pending approval by the health ministry, but is expected to go ahead in the next few days.
“The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well,” Bennett said in remarks relayed by his office, calling on those who meet the criteria to “go and get vaccinated”.
A year ago, Israel embarked on a world-leading vaccination campaign thanks to a special deal with drugmakers Pfizer/BioNTech, in which the country received early supplies in exchange for sharing health data on the vaccines’ impact.
Since then, however, progress has slowed: only about 63% of the 9.3 million-strong population has received two doses, partly owing to the fact that the population skews young, and due to high levels of vaccine hesitancy within the ultra-Orthadox and Arab communities.
Read the full article here:
A record 968,665 booster and third doses of Covid-19 vaccine were reported in the UK yesterday, latest figures show. The previous record was 940,606 doses on Saturday.
More than 30.8m booster and third doses have been delivered in the UK, with 6.1m in the past seven days.
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Fourth vaccine dose may be necessary against Omicron, says German health minister
Germany’s new health minister Karl Lauterbach suggested a fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose would be required in order to protect against the Omicron variant.
In a news conference this afternoon, Lauterbach said Omicron will become the dominant strain in Germany within three weeks and the country has ordered 80m doses of Omicron-specific vaccine for delivery in April or May.
“An offensive booster campaign is our most important building block in the fight against Omicron,” he said.
“The level of protection against severe Covid-19 symptoms after a booster shot is very high. I would estimate it goes well over 90%.”
Germany reported 45,659 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, 5,642 fewer than a week ago, while the death toll rose by 510.
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A third dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine offers a “significant increase” in protection against the Omicron variant in elderly people, according to a new Danish study.
Researchers at Denmark’s top infectious disease authority, Statens Serum Institut (SSI), investigated the effectiveness of vaccines that use mRNA technology against the Delta and Omicron variants.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, analysed data from 3 million Danes gathered between 20 November and 12 December.
Among those who recently had their second vaccine dose, effectiveness against Omicron was measured at 55.2% for Pfizer and 36.7% for Moderna, compared with unvaccinated people. That protection was found to quickly wane over the course of five months.
However, a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine restored protection to 54.6% in people aged 60 or older who had been inoculated 14 to 44 days earlier, compared with those with only two doses.
“In light of the exponential rise in Omicron cases, these findings highlight the need for massive rollout of vaccinations and booster vaccinations,” the researchers said.
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France has cancelled its order for a Covid-19 antiviral drug produced by Merck, citing disappointing trial data.
French health minister Olivier Véran said he hopes instead to receive Pfizer’s competing drug, Paxlovid, before the end of January.
France had placed an early order for 50,000 doses of the drug molnupiravir developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.
Véran’s comments mark the first time a country has publicly said it has cancelled an order for the Merck treatment after the company released data in late November suggesting its drug was markedly less effective than previously thought.
The drugmaker said its pill showed a 30% reduction in hospitalisations and deaths. In comparison, Pfizer’s Paxlovid has shown near 90% efficacy in preventing Covid hospitalisations and deaths in high-risk patients.
Germany’s health minister Karl Lauterbach told Reuters that a “binding order” had already been placed for Merck’s antiviral treatment.
The European Medicines Agency is expected to decide whether to approve the Merck and Pfizer pills in the new year.
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Denmark has scrapped extraordinary travel restrictions for ten countries in southern Africa, after authorities said they did not contribute to controlling the epidemic.
The countries, which are now only encompassed by general travel restrictions, are South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini (Swaziland), Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Malawi and Zambia, the country’s health ministry said.
Travellers from these countries still need to get tested and enter isolation upon entry to Denmark.
Data appears to support claims that Omicron is less severe in South Africa
South Africa has reported data on Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant that appears to give added impetus to claims the country is experiencing a lower severity of disease.
“In South Africa, this is the epidemiology: Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” said Prof Cheryl Cohen, of the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), one of the authors of the study.
“Compellingly, together our data really suggest a positive story of a reduced severity of Omicron compared to other variants,” she said during a news conference by a group of NICD scientists on Wednesday.
Scientists, however, cautioned that the reasons less severe cases were being seen was not fully understood and that South Africa’s experience – with a young population – might not translate into how other countries experience Omicron.
In South Africa, the median age is 27.6 years in comparison with the UK, where it is 40.5, and Italy – hard hit by the first wave of the pandemic – where it is 47.3.
Read the full article here:
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Authorities in Turkey have approved emergency use of its domestically developed Covid vaccine, Turkovac, the country’s health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said.
Speaking at the vaccine’s production facility in the south-eastern province of Sanlirufa, he said public hospitals would begin using the jab from next weekend.
Turkey began developing Turkovac this year, but the launch date for the vaccine has been beset by delays. President Tayyip Erdogan has said the vaccine will be made available globally.
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UK government advisers have decided against recommending that all five- to 11-year-olds be offered the Covid vaccine, with only the most vulnerable children expected to be eligible immediately, the Guardian understands.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is expected to recommend a limited rollout to clinically vulnerable children on Wednesday, stopping short of suggesting that all primary age children should be vaccinated.
Ministers have been keenly awaiting the advice on primary age vaccinations, with large numbers of children absent throughout the autumn term as the Delta and then Omicron waves spread through the unvaccinated population.
Read the full article here:
Families in Spain will be able to celebrate Christmas together despite the rise in Covid cases, the country’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez has confirmed.
The Spanish health ministry reported a record 49,823 cases on Tuesday, with 94 further deaths, though hospitalisations and intensive-care numbers remain fairly low compared to previous waves.
Addressing parliament today, Sanchez said:
Parents and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers will be able to come together with their children and grandchildren.
Omicron accounts for some 47% of total infections, according to data released yesterday.
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NHS leaders in England have reportedly been told to make plans for temporary “field hospitals” in hospital car parks in preparation for the expected surge of Covid patients over the next five weeks.
Health Service Journal reports NHS England held a series of calls on Tuesday during which they asked local leaders to review the capacity of their mortuaries.
Leaders were also asked to identify hard standing areas where temporary “field hospitals” could potentially be erected, which would effectively be large “tents” with a capacity for around 100 patients, according to one source.
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Italy’s prime minister, Mario Draghi, has said the government is preparing new Covid restrictions, including the return to mandatory mask-wearing outdoors and the use of more protective FFP2 masks indoors.
Key officials are set to meet on Thursday to discuss potential measures, including making vaccinations mandatory for more categories of workers, he said.
The Italian government has already made jabs obligatory for health care workers, teachers, law enforcement officers and the military.
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Rule of six to apply in pubs, cinemas and restaurants in Wales from 26 December
A maximum of six people will be allowed to meet in pubs, cinemas and restaurants in Wales from 6am on 26 December, the first minister has announced.
Licensed premises will have to offer table service only, face masks will have to be worn and contact tracing details collected.
Mark Drakeford said the 2-metre social distancing rules will also return in public places and outdoor events will be limited to 50, and 30 indoors. He said:
We are facing a very serious situation in Wales. A wave of infections caused by the new, fast-moving and very-infectious omicron variant is headed our way.
This new form of coronavirus could infect large numbers of people in Wales, disrupting daily lives and businesses and could cause an increase in the number of people who need hospital care in the coming weeks.
We will do everything we can to protect people’s health and livelihoods in Wales – this means taking early action to try and control its spread.
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The Quebec government is reportedly considering asking hospital workers with asymptomatic Covid-19 to stay on the job.
The Globe and Mail quotes a source as saying the idea was floated last Friday at a meeting between unions representing health care workers and the assistant deputy minister of health, Vincent Lehouillier.
In an interview, a senior health official confirmed the government is looking into assigning Covid-19 positive staffers who are not feeling sick to treat patients who have already been exposed to the virus.
Canada’s second-most populous province announced a series of partial lockdown measures after cases doubled in less than a week.
Bars, casinos, cinemas, gyms and performance venues have been closed since Monday and restaurants can be open only between 5am and 10pm. Sports performances must be held behind closed doors and schools have closed with a return to in-person classes scheduled for 10 January.
Updated
The World Health Organization’s eastern Mediterranean chief has warned that there could be more than 17 million cases in the 22 countries in the region and more than 314,000 deaths by the end of the year.
Speaking at a WHO virtual briefing, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari said:
The arrival of Delta and Omicron during 2021 made it clear that Covid-19 is far from over. Covid will continue to evolve; simply because the virus continues to mutate. This is what viruses do: they change as they circulate.
Fourteen countries in the eastern Mediterranean region have already reported cases of Omicron, he said, adding:
The holiday season is upon us. These times must remain happy times. Yet, the failure to apply the established public health and social measures could cause alarming surges in the number of Covid-19 cases and related deaths.
“In the Region, we are still a long way from reaching our targets to vaccinate 40% of the population by end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year
— WHO EMRO (@WHOEMRO) December 22, 2021
Of 22 countries:
➡️9 have reached 40% target
➡️6 have vaccinated less than 10% of their populations”
Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari
Updated
Hello from London. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong, taking over from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic.
In northern China, the city of Xi’an has ordered its 13 million residents to stay home in a strict lockdown. From midnight on Thursday, all households may only “send one household member outside once every two days to purchase necessities”, Agence France-Presse reports. Everyone else must remain indoors except in the case of an emergency.
Xi’an reported 52 new cases today, bringing the total to 143 since December 9. The latest orders came a day after the city began testing all of its 13 million residents.
China is fighting local outbreaks in several cities, including key industrial hubs in the east and south. Authorities are determined to quash fresh outbreaks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
The southern city of Dongxing on Tuesday ordered its 200,000 residents to stay at home and halted public transport after one single local case was detected.
Updated
Summary
Here is a round-up of the top Covid news stories so far today:
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France could soon have around 100,000 new Covid cases a day, health minister Olivier Véran said on Wednesday, up from around 70,000 as the country battles a fifth wave of the epidemic.
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Israel is to offer a fourth dose of a Covid vaccine to people older than 60 or with compromised immune systems, and to health workers, as part of a drive to ramp up the shots and outpace the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
- AstraZeneca has said it is working with Oxford University to produce a vaccine for the Omicron variant. “Together with Oxford University, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an Omicron variant vaccine, in case it is needed and will be informed by emerging data,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
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German health experts have said that new coronavirus curbs probably did not go far enough to keep the Omicron variant in check, as the country’s health minister said he had not ruled out a full lockdown if cases spiked.
- The World Health Organization’s European chief has warned countries to brace for a “significant surge” in cases as Omicron spreads across the continent.
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South Africa’s noticeable drop in new Covid cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic Omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say.
- In the UK, there are 129 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and so far 14 people have died, junior health minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News on Wednesday.
- Suspected Covid outbreaks in hospitals across the UK have doubled in a week, official figures reveal – though the number of people admitted to wards with the virus is falling across much of England.
- More than 167,000 children are believed to have lost parents or caregivers to Covid during the pandemic – roughly one in every 450 young people in the US under age 18.
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Poland reported 775 Covid-related deaths on Friday, the highest daily number in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the data from the health ministry showed.
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Britain has signed contracts to buy a further 4.25m courses of antivirals for its health service to help combat the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, it said on Wednesday.
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Japan has confirmed its first known local transmissions of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Osaka, a sign it is already making its way in the country.
- In Australia, Scott Morrison insists it’s not necessary for the states to introduce mask mandates in response to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, despite health advice recommending they be compulsory in indoor settings.
- The US recorded the lowest rate of population growth in its history in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the US Census Bureau.
- Hundreds of small business owners rallied in South Korea’s capital on Wednesday, calling for the end of a curfew and tough coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, cafes, gyms and other facilities.
- Finland will significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve with restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and close their doors by 10pm.
- Singapore will freeze the sale of tickets for arriving flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel programme for four weeks from Thursday.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today as I hand over the blog to my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong, who will continue to bring you the latest coronavirus news from around the world. Goodbye.
Updated
The Philippines has halved the wait for a booster dose of Covid vaccine to three months in its battle with the more infectious Omicron variant.
From Wednesday, adults can receive a booster dose at least three months after receiving the second jab of a two-dose vaccine, compared with six months earlier, acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said.
Single-dose vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster after two months, he told a regular news conference.
German health experts have said that new coronavirus curbs probably did not go far enough to keep the Omicron variant in check, as the country’s health minister said he had not ruled out a full lockdown if cases spiked.
The measures, decided on Tuesday, include limits on private gatherings, closing clubs and discos and banning spectators at football matches and are set to be introduced from 28 December, Reuters reported.
Janosch Dahmen, health expert for junior coalition partners the Greens, said they were a step in the right direction. “But they probably won’t be able to curb the danger that Omicron represents,” he told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
German Hospital Federation chairman Gerald Gass called the measures “necessary, but possibly not sufficient” in comments to the Funke media group.
Germany reported 45,659 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, close to recent peaks, as the death toll rose by 510, and both men said the government should be ready to toughen the curbs if the epidemic worsened.
More than 167,000 children are believed to have lost parents or caregivers to Covid during the pandemic – roughly one in every 450 young people in the US under age 18.
The count updates the October estimate that 140,000 minors had lost caregiving adults to the virus, and is four times more than a springtime tally that found nearly 40,000 children had experienced such loss.
In a 9 December report titled Hidden Pain, researchers from the COVID Collaborative and Social Policy Analytics published the new total, which they derived by combining coronavirus death numbers with household-level data from the 2019 American Community Survey.
The death toll further underscores the daunting task facing schools as they seek to help students recover not just academically, but also emotionally, from a pandemic that has already stretched 22 months and claimed more than 800,000 American lives.
Hundreds of small business owners rallied in South Korea’s capital on Wednesday, calling for the end of a curfew and tough coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, cafes, gyms and other facilities.
The protesters chanted “Guarantee the right to live!” and “Scrap restrictions on business operations!” during the rally in Seoul.
Under current social distancing guidelines, up to 299 people are allowed to join rallies but all must be fully vaccinated.
On Saturday, South Korea reimposed its toughest social distancing rules to try to control a record-breaking surge of the coronavirus. Most new cases in South Korea are still the delta variant, but health officials say the new Omicron variant could become the dominant strain in a few months.
The restored curbs include a ban on private gatherings of five or more people, a 9pm curfew for restaurants, coffee shops and karaoke venues, and required proof of vaccination for entry to restaurants and other businesses.
Updated
Britain has signed contracts to buy a further 4.25m courses of antivirals for its health service to help combat the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, it said on Wednesday.
Antivirals are treatments used to either treat those who are infected with a virus or sometimes protect exposed individuals from becoming infected.
The government said the two new contracts are for 1.75m courses of Merck Sharp and Dohme’s (MSD) molnupiravir and 2.5m additional courses of PF-07321332/ritonavir from Pfizer which will be available from early next year.
Updated
Poland reported 775 Covid-related deaths on Friday, the highest daily number in the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the data from the health ministry showed.
Poland has been dealing with persistently high daily case numbers in a fourth wave that has forced authorities to tighten restrictions. On Friday Poland reported 18,021 new coronavirus cases.
Israel to offer fourth Covid vaccine dose in bid to fight Omicron
Israel is to offer a fourth dose of a Covid vaccine to people older than 60 or with compromised immune systems, and to health workers, as part of a drive to ramp up the shots and outpace the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
A health ministry expert panel – whose findings have yet to be implemented – recommended on Tuesday that those eligible receive the fourth shot at least four months after receiving their third.
Prime minister Naftali Bennett, who has sought to drum up higher Israeli turnout for vaccines, welcomed the panel’s statement as “great news that will help us overcome the Omicron wave that is spreading around the world”.
The panel further recommended that the time allotted between second and third shots be reduced to three months from five.
Such measures would be “part of the preparation for the fifth wave” of the pandemic, said the panel’s statement, which did not present specific data behind the recommendations.
Updated
Japan has confirmed its first known local transmissions of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Osaka, a sign it is already making its way in the country.
The family of three in Osaka had no record of travelling overseas and their infections could not be traced, Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said.
The three are the first known cases of community transmission of the highly infectious variant in Japan, Yoshimura said. “I believe they only happened to be detected and we must take steps on the assumption that there already are other cases of community transmission,” he said.
Yoshimura said restrictions on eateries in Osaka will remain in place, including a limit of four people per table for a maximum of two hours, to minimise risks during the holiday season, when coronavirus infections surged last year.
About 80 previous omicron cases have been identified in Japan, but all involved people who tested positive upon entry at airports or those linked to them, government officials have said.
Updated
Nurses have pleaded with the public to get vaccinated and boosted over Christmas to ease the strain on the NHS.
Staff at King’s College Hospital in south-east London said while social distancing and wearing masks was important, getting both jabs as well as boosters was the “best thing” that people can do to prevent themselves from getting Omicron.
Nicky Barlow, 30, a critical care sister who works in the Covid intensive care unit at King’s, said they have found patients being admitted to hospital with Covid are younger than before.
She told the PA Media news agency:
We are very stretched from a nursing point of view, we’ve had lots of sickness due to Covid positive cases and contacts.
The nurses are all very tired because they’re all having to take on a lot more responsibility than they normally would due to the stretched staffing. We’re seeing the majority of patients that are coming in with Covid are not vaccinated and they’re also younger as well this time around.
Outlining what can be done to ease the stress on them, she added: “The majority of Covid patients that are coming in aren’t vaccinated.
“All the patients that have had their vaccine seem to have not as bad symptoms. I would [say] get vaccinated. I’ve been vaccinated, I’ve had my booster, I would encourage all the staff to have their boosters. I think that’s the best thing that we could do.
“Wearing masks and social distancing is helpful too.”
Dr Laura Jane Smith, 39, is a respiratory consultant in one of the hospital’s two wards for Covid patients. She told PA Media:
There’s only so much that people can do, but the things that really make a difference is looking after themselves and really thinking hard about getting their vaccinations.
What we’re seeing is that they [the vaccines] do make a huge difference to the severity of disease. People might still have some hesitancy and I just advise them to try and make sure they’re getting really good information from trusted sources and just rethink to try and protect themselves and their loved ones.
We all treat everyone the same, unvaccinated, vaccinated or whatever, but we see what a difference it makes, and so we really hope that people could reconsider that decision.
Updated
South Africa’s noticeable drop in new Covid cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic Omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say.
Daily virus case counts are notoriously unreliable, as they can be affected by uneven testing, reporting delays and other fluctuations. But they are offering one hint — far from conclusive yet — that omicron infections may recede quickly after a ferocious spike. The Reuters news agency reported:
South Africa has been at the forefront of the omicron wave and the world is watching for any signs of how it may play out there to try to understand what may be in store.
After hitting a high of nearly 27,000 new cases nationwide on Thursday, the numbers dropped to about 15,424 on Tuesday. In Gauteng province — South Africa’s most populous with 16 million people, including the largest city, Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria — the decrease started earlier and has continued.
“The drop in new cases nationally combined with the sustained drop in new cases seen here in Gauteng province, which for weeks has been the center of this wave, indicates that we are past the peak,” Marta Nunes, senior researcher at the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics department of the University of Witwatersrand, told The Associated Press.
“It was a short wave ... and the good news is that it was not very severe in terms of hospitalizations and deaths,” she said. It is “not unexpected in epidemiology that a very steep increase, like what we saw in November, is followed by a steep decrease.”
France could soon have 100,000 Covid cases a day - minister
France could soon have around 100,000 new Covid cases a day, health minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday, up from around 70,000 currently as the country battles a fifth wave of the epidemic.
The Omicron variant will be the dominant strain of Covid in France by early January, Veran told BFM TV .
Veran said no new restrictions were on the table for now, although nothing could be ruled out, with authorities hoping an increase in the numbers of people having vaccinations will allow them to keep the virus in check.
On 21 December, France registered a further 210 Covid deaths in hospitals in the last 24 hours, while it also recorded 72,832 new Covid cases. The country’s death toll stands at 122,931, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Updated
In the UK, there are 129 people in hospital with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and so far 14 people have died, junior health minister Gillian Keegan told Sky News on Wednesday.
She also said the UK government would not hesitate to bring in further Covid restrictions if the data showed it was necessary.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he would not introduce new restrictions in England before Christmas, but the situation remained extremely difficult and the government might need to act afterwards.
Updated
In Australia, Scott Morrison insists it’s not necessary for the states to introduce mask mandates in response to a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, despite health advice recommending they be compulsory in indoor settings.
Speaking after a national cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the prime minister instead said it was “highly recommended” to wear masks indoors, urging Australians to use common sense and to reduce their risk of spreading Covid to their loved ones over Christmas.
Health advice circulated to state and territory leaders late last week made the case for mandating masks in all indoor settings, including retail, entertainment facilities, and hospitality when not eating and drinking.
The US recorded the lowest rate of population growth in its history in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the US Census Bureau.
The year from July 2020 to July 2021 was also the first time since 1937 that the population of the US grew by fewer than 1 million. Only 392,665 people were added to the count, growth of barely 0.1%.
The figures released on Tuesday would appear to indicate that although tens of millions of Americans were forced to quarantine at home in the early months of the pandemic, there was no consequential rise in the birthrate.
If anything, analysts say, the numbers were far lower than anticipated, even though the tally of births in the US has dropped every year since 2008, with the exception of 2014.
“I was expecting low growth but nothing this low,” William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution metropolitan policy programme, told the Associated Press.
Updated
Hello. Tom Ambrose here to bring you all the latest Covid headlines over the next few hours.
Let’s start with the news that in the UK, Boris Johnson has been accused of “dithering” and missing the opportunity to take action against Covid ahead of Christmas.
Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth accused the prime minister of “kicking the can down the road”.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme, Ashworth said Johnson “can’t show the leadership the country demands and deserves because he’s trapped between his Tory backbenchers, who have had enough of him and are now pushing him around all over the place, and he’s trapped between them and the scientific advice he’s receiving.
“Now, look, nobody wants to see lockdowns and restrictions over Christmas. Christmas is a time for families, it’s a time for joy, it’s a time for coming together.
“Indeed, because of Boris Johnson’s dither anyway, he’s missed that window of opportunity to do anything in the run-up, I mean, about Christmas.
“On the other hand, we’re all anticipating some form of restrictions post-Christmas, so Johnson is kicking the can down the road if you like.
“But I think people just need to know where they stand. We need a bit of certainty, we need to know what he’s anticipating for the future, and I think he should outline that plan.”
Updated
Here is a snapshot of the Covid situation unfolding across Asia.
South Korea is struggling to contain a surge in Covid cases, reporting 7,456 infections on Wednesday and a record number of people with serious symptoms. The number of critically ill patients rose to a new high of 1,063 according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
The country now requires citizens over 18 to present a quarantine pass, proof of Covid vaccination or negative PCR test to access indoor sports events, cinemas and concert halls. Gatherings are limited to no more than four people and restaurants, cafes and bars are to close by 9pm.
Neighbouring Japan is recording comparatively few daily cases but has decided to extend strict border controls which stipulate only citizens and foreign residents are permitted to enter, and they must quarantine in government-designated facilities.
Thailand reported 2,532 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths on Wednesday, according to the ministry of health. It will reinstate mandatory Covid quarantine for foreign visitors and scrap a quarantine waiver from Tuesday.
China is fighting local outbreaks in several cities, including key industrial hubs in the east and south. Authorities are determined to quash fresh outbreaks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Covid cases remain relatively low with China’s health authority reporting 77 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, down from 81 a day earlier.
The Philippines has halved the waiting time for a Covid-19 vaccine booster to three months after a second vaccination, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. Covid-19 cases have fallen to an average of 378 a day in December, from a peak of 18,579 daily in September.
Updated
Suspected Covid outbreaks in UK hospitals double in a week
Suspected Covid outbreaks in hospitals across the UK have doubled in a week, official figures reveal – though the number of people admitted to wards with the virus is falling across much of England.
As parts of the NHS battle to cope with a surge in infected staff and patients, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data show there were 66 acute respiratory infection incidents in UK hospitals in the seven days to 16 December.
Coronavirus was confirmed in most of these incidents, according to a UKHSA document reviewed, by the Guardian. It represents a doubling in outbreaks compared with the previous week (33) and is the highest total recorded since the third week of January 2020.
Most of the outbreaks happened in London, with 28 recorded in the last week, almost half of all those in England (62). Nine were recorded in West Midlands hospitals, six in the east of England and five in the east Midlands.
Read the full story from the Guardian’s health editor, Andrew Gregory, here.
Updated
Summary
Hello, it’s Samantha Lock with you on the blog as we run through all the latest Covid headlines from around the world.
As the World Health Organization’s European chief, Dr Hans Kluge, warned that Omicron will dominate throughout the European region, leaders across the region have rushed to reimpose restrictions.
Germany announced a string of new measures that are to take effect from 28 December “at the latest”, in a bid to get a rampant surge in new infections under control. Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that the fifth wave was just around the corner.
Portugal will follow suit and order nightclubs and bars to shut their doors while people will be urged to work from home from 26 December to at least 9 January. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people per group on New Year’s Eve.
Finland will also significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve with restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and to close their doors by 10pm.
In Sweden, bars, cafes and restaurants will only be able to serve seated guests from Wednesday, and people are being urged to work from home.
In more hopeful news, AstraZeneca has said it is working with Oxford University to produce a vaccine for the Omicron variant.
“Together with Oxford University, we have taken preliminary steps in producing an Omicron variant vaccine, in case it is needed and will be informed by emerging data,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Here’s a quick run-down on what you may have missed:
- The World Health Organization’s European chief has warned countries to brace for a “significant surge” in cases as Omicron spreads across the continent.
- Israelis over the age of 60 and medical teams will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination, prime minister Naftali Bennett announced.
- UK prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed no further Covid restrictions will be put in place in England before Christmas however curbs could be imposed after 25 December.
- Western Australia will become the first Australian state to mandate vaccine booster shots.
- Singapore will freeze the sale of tickets for arriving flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel programme for four weeks from Thursday.
- New York City mayor Bill de Blasio vows there will be “no more shutdowns” in America’s most populous city.
- Finland will significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve with restaurants to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and close their doors by 10pm.
- England is cutting Covid self-isolation to seven days with a negative test.
- Half a billion at-home coronavirus tests will be sent free to the American public in the fight against Omicron, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday.
- The Canadian Pacific Coast province of British Columbia is closing bars, nightclubs and gyms amid concerns over the Omicron variant.
Updated
Speaking of Australia, here is a quick visual run-down of the Covid situation across the country.
Over in Australia, Western Australia will become the first Australian state to mandate vaccine booster shots.
Premier Mark McGowan just announced that more than one million workers will now have to get booster shots under an expanded mandate. It is the first time boosters have been mandated.
Specifically in relation to third doses. A third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will now be mandatory for all eligible workers in industries covered by a vaccine mandate.
Under the mandate workers will now be called to have a third dose within one month of becoming eligible.
Currently more than 266,000 people are eligible for a third dose. And so far 89,900 people have received their dose.
Everyone is strongly urged to receive a third dose when eligible, even if they’re not covered by this policy.”
Singapore will freeze the sale of tickets for arriving flights and buses under its quarantine-free travel programme for four weeks from Thursday, the government said, citing the risk from the fast-spreading Omicron Covid-19 variant, Reuters reports.
Under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) programme, Singapore allows quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from certain countries on designated flights or buses. The travellers have to undergo regular testing.
About two dozen countries are listed in the programme including Australia, India, Malaysia, Britain and the United States.
However, no new tickets will be issued for people hoping to arrive from any of those countries from Thursday to Jan. 20, the government said on Wednesday.
The health ministry said in a statement:
Our border measures will help to buy us time to study and understand the Omicron variant, and to strengthen our defences, including enhancing our healthcare capacity, and getting more people vaccinated and boosted.”
The government said it would also reduce the VTL quotas and ticket sales for travel after 20 January. For flights, the total number of VTL tickets would be capped at 50% of the previously allocated quota.
Travellers already holding tickets on VTL flights or buses and who meet all other requirements can still travel under the programme.
The government also urged people arriving in Singapore to minimise their social interactions, avoid large gatherings and eating out for seven days even if their tests, which they have to take every day for the week, are negative.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio vows there will be “no more shutdowns” in America’s most populous city.
The Democrat said Tuesday that New York can’t see schools and businesses close again like they did when Covid-19 first hit.
De Blasio faced questions about whether he would reinstate closures as the Omicron variant surges in the city.
At a virtual news conference on Tuesday, he said:
Adamantly I feel this: No more shutdowns. We’ve been through them,” de Blasio said at a virtual news conference Tuesday.
They were devastating. We can’t go through it again.”
It is still undecided whether the city’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will continue as planned.
The event was small and socially distanced last year but de Blasio had hoped to hold it this year at “full strength.”
De Blasio’s successor Eric Adams annoucened he would be postponing his inauguration ceremony, scheduled for 1 January indoors at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre.
Researchers in Melbourne, Australia, have turned one of the world’s most-used blood-thinning drugs into a nasal spray which they hope could prevent Covid-19 transmission.
Northern Health medical divisional director Don Campbell and researchers at Melbourne, Monash and Oxford Universities found that heparin can block the transmission of Covid-19 and prevent infection.
The nasal spray, which has so far received $4.2m from the Victorian government to undergo clinical trials, coats the nose but does not go down into the lungs.
Professor Campbell told ABC news:
It won’t matter if a new variant comes along, this drug will block that protein from infecting the cells.
I’m very confident that we can demonstrate that it will work, and people will be using this before they go to the shops and before they go to school.”
Over the next six months, 340 Victorian households will be given the heparin nasal spray or a placebo, within hours of their household contact testing positive, to reduce transmission.
“When [Covid] first gets into the nose it binds to a molecule called heparan and if it mutates that binding site it can’t bind,” he said.
“Heparin is so close in structure to heparan that it binds on and paralyses the virus, so it stops it infecting and also stops it spreading to others,” professor Campbell added.
Masks in Japan might be in oversupply but McDonald’s fries certainly are not.
A new kind of chip shortage has hit Japanese supply chains, with McDonald’s forced to ration fries as Covid-19 and floods in Canada squeeze potato imports.
McDonald’s Japan said it would only sell small-sized french fries for a week from Friday to avoid shortages.
Due to large-scale flooding near the Port of Vancouver … and the global supply chain crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic, there are delays in the supply of potatoes.”
The company said it had taken the measure to ensure that customers could still order fries, even though the “stable procurement of resource materials” was proving difficult.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Some interesting news from Japan has just emerged.
Prime minister Fumio Kishida has said 80 million unused “Abenomasks” will be thrown away after criticism that it was costing ¥600 million ($5.2m or £4m to keep them in storage. The government also found that 11 million of the masks were “defective” after inspections that cost more than ¥2 billion.
“I have instructed (officials) to dispose of the government’s stock of cloth masks by the end of the current fiscal year (through March) after distributing them to those in need,” Kishida told a press conference.
“Worries about mask shortages have been completely eliminated due to a recovery in manufacturing and supply, and the intended purpose (of the cloth masks) has been achieved,” the premier said.
Kishida also said that Japan will continue to ban foreigners (apart from residents) entering the country “for the time being” to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.
Updated
Finland to close bars and restaurants by 10pm on Christmas Eve
Finland will significantly scale up Covid restrictions on the hospitality industry from Christmas Eve.
Prime minister Sanna Marin said restaurants will be required to stop serving alcohol by 9pm and close their doors by 10pm as of Christmas Eve during a press briefing on Tuesday night.
“We must take this situation seriously and react accordingly,” Marin said.
The restrictions will be further tightened from 28 December with restaurants to stop drinking at 5pm with doors closing at 6pm.
The restrictions will be in effect for three weeks. The government will begin preparing a support package to compensate hospitality businesses affected by the restrictions, Marin said.
Health chiefs announced over 23,000 new coronavirus infections in the past two weeks, an all-time record in the Nordic nation of 5.5 million people.
EU citizens arriving at the Finnish border will be required to show a negative Covid test under the new rules.
Further details on the restrictions are set to be announced on Wednesday.
Updated
China has reported 77 new confirmed coronavirus cases for Tuesday 21 December, down from 81 a day earlier, its health authority said on Wednesday.
Of the new infections, 57 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, unchanged from a day earlier. Most of the new local cases were in the northwestern province of Shaanxi.
China reported 19 new asymptomatic cases, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, also unchanged from a day earlier.
There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636.
Covid self-isolation cut to seven days with negative test in England
If you missed the story we reported earlier on England cutting Covid self-isolation to seven days with a negative test here’s a quick run-down.
From Tuesday, new guidance will enable the 10-day self-isolation period for vaccinated people in England who have tested positive for coronavirus to be reduced by three days if they get the all-clear from lateral flow tests.
People who receive negative results from tests taken 24 hours apart on day six and day seven of their self-isolation period will no longer have to self-isolate for the full 10 days, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Those who leave self-isolation on or after day seven are “strongly advised” to limit close contact with other people in crowded or poorly ventilated spaces, work from home and minimise contact with anyone who is at higher risk of severe illness if infected with Covid-19, the agency added.
There is no change to the guidance for unvaccinated positive cases, or unvaccinated contacts of positive cases, who are still required to self-isolate for the 10 full days after their date of exposure to the virus.
Read the full story from the Guardian’s health editor, Andrew Gregory, here.
Biden announces half a billion free home Covid tests to fight Omicron
Half a billion at-home coronavirus tests will be sent free to the American public in the fight against Omicron, Joe Biden announced on Tuesday, while pushing back against resistance to vaccine mandates by saying they are intended “not to control your life, but to save your life”.
The move is part of a renewed White House effort that includes the Pentagon calling up 1,000 troops to deploy to hard-hit hospitals and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) working to expand medical capacity.
We’re purchasing 500 million at-home rapid COVID tests that will be distributed for free to Americans who want them. pic.twitter.com/m9rgb9kjmP
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 22, 2021
But as Covid-19 once again rages across America via the new Omicron variant, the president, speaking from the White House, did not discourage Christmas gatherings, impose vaccine mandates for domestic air travel or seek a new round of lockdowns.
“I know some Americans are wondering if you can safely celebrate the holidays with your family and friends – the answer is yes, you can, if you and those you celebrate with are vaccinated, particularly if you’ve gotten your booster shot,” Biden said.
Read the full story from our Washington correspondent, David Smith, here.
Updated
British Columbia, Canada, to close bars, nightclubs and weddings
The Canadian Pacific Coast province of British Columbia is closing bars, nightclubs and gyms amid concerns over the Omicron variant.
Starting at 11:59pm on Wednesday 22 December, bars, nightclubs, gyms, fitness centres and dance studios will close, and all seated events will be reduced to 50% capacity.
Indoor gatherings, including weddings, are also being cancelled, the Associated Press reports.
The new public health measures will be in place until the end of the day Tuesday, 18 January.
Provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry said Tuesday the risk posed by Omicron is “fundamentally different” than other variants and it more easily infects those who are vaccinated or have had Covid-19.
She said the province is seeing “explosive outbreaks,” with a large number of people being exposed at the same time. There’s also been a spike in cases among those aged 18 to 35.
The French-speaking province of Quebec announced Monday that it is closing bars, cinemas, gyms and spas because of a record number of coronavirus cases.
WHO warns Europe of 'significant surge' in Covid cases
The World Health Organization’s European chief has warned countries to brace for a “significant surge” in cases as Omicron spreads across the continent.
Speaking at a press conference in Vienna, Dr Hans Kluge said Omicron is now the dominant variant in a number of European countries, including the UK, Denmark and Portugal. He said:
We can see another storm coming.
Within weeks, omicron will dominate in more countries of the region, pushing already stretched health systems further to the brink.
Last week, 27,000 people died from Covid in the region and an additional 2.6m cases were reported, he said. Although these cases include all variants, he noted this figure is 40% higher than during the same period last year. He added:
The sheer volume of new Covid-19 infections could lead to more hospitalisations and widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services.
Governments and authorities need to prepare our response systems for a significant surge.
Read the full story here.
Updated
Hello it’s Samantha Lock back with you on the blog bringing you all the latest Covid developments from across the world.
Let’s start with the news that Israelis over the age of 60 and medical teams will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination to protect against the fast-spreading omicron variant, prime minister Naftali Bennett announced.
“The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well,” he said on Tuesday, calling on those who meet the criteria to “go and get vaccinated.”
Bennett’s remarks came after a meeting of the country’s ministerial coronavirus cabinet which convened amid growing concern over the spread of the Omicron variant.
The World Health Organization’s European chief has warned countries to brace for a “significant surge” in cases as Omicron spreads across the continent. Dr Hans Kluge said Omicron is now the dominant variant in a number of European countries, including the UK, Denmark and Portugal.
“We can see another storm coming,” said Kluge. “Within weeks, Omicron will dominate in more countries of the region, pushing already stretched health systems further to the brink.”
- UK prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed no further Covid restrictions will be put in place in England before Christmas however curbs could be imposed after 25 December.
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Edinburgh’s annual Hogmanay street party has been cancelled, while in Wales employees face £60 fines for failing to work from home as governments tightened rules to limit the spread of the Omicron variant. The Scottish and Welsh governments also imposed limits on sporting events from Boxing Day.
- People over the age of 60 in Israel will be eligible for a fourth Covid vaccination, the country’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett, announced. His remarks came the country recorded its first death from the Omicron variant.
- The next mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, said on Tuesday he would postpone his inauguration ceremony, which was set for 1 January, due to the rise in cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. He did so shortly after the current mayor, Bill de Blasio, announced that residents who get a Covid-19 booster shot by the end of the year will receive $100.
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Germany has announced a string of new measures that are to take effect from 28 December “at the latest”, in a bid to get a rampant surge in new infections under control. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the fourth wave of infections was now under control, but warned that the fifth wave was just around the corner.
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Portugal’s government ordered nightclubs and bars to shut doors and told people to work from home from 26 December to at least 9 January to control the spread of Covid-19 over the holiday period. A negative coronavirus test will also be required to stay at Portuguese hotels and outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people per group on New Year’s Eve.
- The archbishop of Canterbury has said that people will have felt “sorrow and sadness” seeing the photograph of Downing Street staff drinking together last May because it will have reminded them of what they sacrificed. In an interview, Justin Welby hinted at his disapproval over the gathering, saying that leadership involved setting an example.
- A bailout package worth about £1bn for businesses losing trade because of the Omicron surge was announced by the UK’s chancellor, Rishi Sunak. The funding will primarily help firms in the leisure and hospitality sectors, and follows concerns that they have faced cancelled bookings.
